Edie Falco & Grant Shaud to Lead Reading of THRILLSVILLE at George Street Playhouse

George Street Playhouse announced today that Edie Falco, an Emmy Award winner for her leading roles in The Sopranos and Nurse Jackie, and Grant Shaud, well known to TV audiences from his role of Miles Silverman on Murphy Brown, will perform a special reading of Matt Hoverman's new play, Thrillsville, directed by Michael Mastro, at the New Brunswick theatre on Thursday, November 19, 2015, at 7 pm. Proceeds of the one-night-only performance will benefit George Street Playhouse.

Thrillsville, a 2015 Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference semifinalist, is a comic tale for anyone who loves an impossible sibling. Outrageous, adorable and developmentally disabled Patricia (Falco) is 40 years old and living the good life. When funds run out for her ongoing care, her brother Chip (Shaud) steps in to help her establish a new life in a new home with new neighbors.

Benefit tickets for this special reading are priced at $65 with very limited $120 seats available that include a post-performance meet-and-greet reception with the artists. For tickets and information, contact the George Street Playhouse Box Office, 732-246-7717, or visit www.GSPonline.org.

Edie Falco has broken many awards records. With her Emmy wins for her role of Carmela Soprano in The Sopranos and for her role as Jackie Peyton in Nurse Jackie, she is the only actress to have won an Emmy in both the comedy and drama categories. In 2000, she became the only actress to ever receive the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Dramatic Series, the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Dramatic Television Series, and the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama, all in the same year for her performance in the debut season of The Sopranos. In 2003, she became the first woman to win the Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Drama. Recent stage work includes an off-Broadway appearance in The Madrid in 2013, and her Tony Award-nominated role opposite Ben Stiller in 2011's House of Blue Leaves on Broadway.

Grant Shaud played Miles Silverberg, the executive producer of the fictional FYI newsmagazine program on television's long-running Murphy Brown, and also appeared on the 2000 series Madigan Men, starring Gabriel Byrne. More recently, he has made TV appearances on Louie, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Bravo TV's Odd Mom Out. His stage work is highlighted by a Broadway appearance in 2011's Relatively Speaking, a collection of three one-act plays that includes Elaine May's George is Dead with Marlo Thomas -- a work that premiered at George Street Playhouse in 2008 as Roger is Dead.

Matt Hoverman has written a number of plays, including Who You See Here and The Glint: a mean little comedy, both of which have been optioned for Broadway. He was awarded a 2014 Daytime Creative Emmy for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Series for PBS Kids' Arthur. His other TV work includes writing for Curious George, Wonder Rangers and Disney's Sofia the First.

Michael Mastro has joined GSP for the 2015-16 season as Resident Artistic Director. At George Street, he helmed The Fabulous Lipitones in 2014 and The Subject Was Roses with Stephanie Zimbalist in 2011, and he appeared in recent years on stage in such productions as The Sunshine Boys, The Pillowman, The Fox on the Fairway and Inspecting Carol. Last season, he directed Ingmar Bergman's Nora at Delaware Theatre Company, where he was Associate Artistic Director, and he appeared in Ayckbourn's The Things We Do For Love at the Westport Country Playhouse. Other directorial assignments include associate director of the recent first national tour of West Side Story, helmed by GSP Artistic Director David Saint. As an actor, he works regularly on and off Broadway, regionally, and in film and TV, where he is currently recurring on Law and Order: SVU. Member: Actors Equity, SAG-AFTRA, SDC, Naked Angels, The Actors Center. TheMichaelMastro.com

George Street Playhouse is located at 9 Livingston Avenue in the heart of New Brunswick's vibrant downtown Arts and Entertainment District, steps away from plentiful parking and dining options for every palate and pocketbook. Visit GSPonline.org when planning your trip for helpful parking and dining recommendations.

In the 42 years since its founding, George Street Playhouse has become a nationally recognized theatre, presenting an acclaimed mainstage season while providing an artistic home for established and emerging theatre artists. Its leadership consists of Artistic Director David Saint, Resident Artistic Director Michael Mastro and Managing Director Kelly Ryman. Founded in 1974, the Playhouse has been well represented by numerous productions both on and off-Broadway - recent productions include the Outer Critics' Circle Best Musical Award-winner The Toxic Avenger; the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Drama League nominated production of The Spitfire Grill; and the recent Broadway hit and Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning play Proof by David Auburn, which was developed at GSP during the 1999 Next Stage Series of new plays. In 2015, George Street Playhouse has been represented by two productions in New York: the recent Broadway production of It Shoulda Been You, and Joe DiPietro's Clever Little Lies, which opened off-Broadway in October. Both shows received their premieres at the Playhouse. In addition to its mainstage season, GSP's Touring Educational Theatre features three issue-oriented productions that are seen by more than 40,000 students annually. George Street Playhouse programming is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

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